droopy pumpkins

droopy pumpkins

Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:18 pm

OK, I've done pumpkins before and got a few small ones and stuff. this year my friend mailed me some of her seeds and I planted them. well they're growing great, the only exception is that they get droopy. At first I thought it was because I watered them every other day and maybe they liked to be watered every day or something. well, we had a tornado come through here the other day and got TONS of rain. and yesterday they were still droopy LOL so I give up on the water argument. what the heck is the issue with these things? nothitng else in my garden gets droopy at all. I mean the leaves are just hanging there like wet hair LOL is it the heat? do they dislike the heat maybe?

Droopy

Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:38 pm

I know I can't help - I posted something similiar a few weeks ago and hoped that somebody has had some experience. I have had three plants this year, all start drooping - they don't turn brown, they have no bug or fungus, just droop - I have read everything I can online, most other people with similiar problems say it is too much water. In my haste I pulled one plant out. Another I stopped watering and it came back for awhile only to die again. I did notice the roots when I pulled them were very wet. Some say take them out of the sun and don't water for a few days, well if there in the ground that is next to impossible. Another lady said and I quote " add cornmeal to the soil" she said it helped with the overwatering - I have no clue if it works. I am ready to try it with my third plant that did this, I am looking at it now, green as can be - just exceptionally drooping. I sprayed a foilar spray on leaves (fish emulsion) per another post, nothing so far, hasn't died, hasn't perked up - I am really gonna try to just let it go and see how long it takes to either crock or perk up - as a experiment as I can find no real talk about this issue. I hope your plants get better, so depressing get them to a certain point only to lose them. You can look up that CORN MEAL post - by searching it online - not on this forum it was just a general search and I have seen it three or four times, she goes in depth on what it does. Best of luck to you.

I love this! - There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.

well, the first times it started drooping I watered it and it undrooped LOL! so I thought it was that. it was very hot outside. so then I figured it was the water but now yesterday it was drooping after the rain. so I'm stumped. cornmeal huh. hmmmm. perhaps I'll look that up!

Plant leaves get droopy because of some type of stress. In your case, it's experiencing drought conditions. The plant is only protecting itself from the intense sun, by minimizing the amount of surface area that is exposed. A soil that has excellent drainage - but hardly no moisture retention characteristics is capable of doing what you're seeing, and also not enough soil depth (if you are growing in a raised bed or similar). The addition of organic matter to the soil at the beginning of the year will help alleviate these problems..

My pumpkins usually look great in the morning when it is cooler. As the day progresses and it gets hot they will droop. They will droop whether they have moist ground or not. I think it is their way of dealing with the heat.

I have noticed the squash and pumpkin blossoms are open in the morning then close as it gets hotter. I am thinking what you are seeing is heat ralated and really not a problem. Its just what pumpkins do.

Pumpkins and squash have an extensive root system. There will be roots reaching as far as the vines on the surface and up to 4 feet deep. They will put down roots from the nodes on the vines. They have a tremendous area from which to gather water and nutrients. They should be watered deeply and probably only once a week. The frequency will depend on your type of soil. Once a week works well here. If grown in containers you will need to water more frequently.

hmmm. yes, they tend to droop in the afternoon. So I guess it is probably it! I do try to water them deeply and I had been forgetting to water them as frequently as the rest of the stuff (the other stuff is on a drip system), so they prob get watered once or twice per week, but then I thought they were drooping from lack of water. I guess I'll cut back the water on them again

Re: droopy pumpkins

Sat Jul 22, 2017 4:49 pm

My plants do the same thing. They look strong & healthy in the morning, and then the South Louisiana heat in full sun turns the leaves into little umbrellas as they droop over the plant and look pitiful. But as soon as clouds come or darkness hits, the leaves perk up and look great again.